


Sunlight on ebony and ivory

by taotrooper



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Brotherhood, Fluff, Gen, Piano
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 13:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14426202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taotrooper/pseuds/taotrooper
Summary: A magician gets a special delivery, and his boys learn about the mystery of music.





	Sunlight on ebony and ivory

Hiding in the upper floor of the manor wasn't so unusual, but the noises coming from the humans were making Cerberus anxious. He paced through the room not unlike a caged lion, ears alert and twitching, stopping at every thud and word. Large objects had been moved and dragged. He could hear some swearing in Japanese.

"He made it sound like he was receiving a package," he complained to Yue. "That's certainly not small if they're—"

"Volume," Yue pointed out. The other guardian was lying on a divan, eyes closed and expression unfazed and long moonlight hair brushing the parquet. "They'll hear you."

"It's not small," Cerberus repeated in an annoyed hush, "that's what I'm saying."

His brother shrugged, not giving it importance. That was the master's business, not theirs. Cerberus knew that, but curiosity was proverbially killing that big cat. He continued his pacing, deep in thought. Clow didn't even have to do things that way and receive a mundane delivery.

"You're dizzing me out," Yue said as he rolled over his side to face the wall, his back towards Cerberus.

Minutes felt like hours, and one of his front paws was in the air when they heard the door close and the magician's soft call.

"Finally!" Cerberus roared. He clumsily pushed the door handle and flew downstairs without waiting for his partner. It was like a golden and white blur of a bullet. Yue, however, floated slowly in vertical from the veranda, his feet never touching anything until reaching the foyer. There was a grace in his movement that his brother certainly didn't envy. Absolutely not.

"You're too slow, moon tortoise! I got here first."

"Good for you. Shall we already?"

It seemed to Cerberus that Yue had been just as intrigued about the mystery. The beast was also too keen to feel insulted by his brother's indifference to his victory. They went through the open gates of the living room.

"Hey, what ya got?" Cerberus asked immediately.

"Come and see," Clow grinned. There was a glint in his eyes. "You're going to love this."

In the center of the room, a large wooden object stood. It was dark as ink, dark as night, dark as the man's long hair. It had short legs and it was oddly shaped. Next to it there was a rectangular bench. The size was surely the answer of those noises, for it must have been hard to bring inside a house with no magic, even between several humans.

"You bought... a table. It's..." Cerberus didn't have the heart to say aloud he found it ugly. "Say, don't we have enough furniture?"

"Don't sit on it," Yue said. "It doesn't look like it could withstand your weight."

"Yeah, the legs aren't sturdy and—" Cerberus stopped as he processed the remark. He bared his fangs. "Wait, did you just call me fat again?!"

Clow interrupted the banter with amused chuckles.

"Now, now. No, it's not a table. This is called a piano."

"A what?" Cerberus' head tilted.

"So that's what a piano is like..." Yue mused with a finger under his angular chin. Kero turned his head around to stare at him.

"Do you truly know what this is or are you acting smug for no reason?"

"I don't know, but have you not seen the word in some of the magic arrays in the library? Sheets of paper written in a strange symbolic language, joined with Western spells: 'nocturne for piano' and such."

"Haven't seen those, nope."

Clow laughed again.

"Those aren't magic arrays, dear child. They're music sheets. That's how melodies are written for people to play or sing."

"Music...?" Cerberus walked towards the piano, his tail skyward except for a curve near the tip. "Are you telling us this thing is an instrument, like violins and harps and all? But it looks nothing like that!"

"It's closer to an organ. But pianos are instruments indeed."

Cerberus bit back a remark about never seeing an organ before either.

"What kind of magic is music magic?" Yue asked, crossing his arms.

"No, that's not magic." Clow shook his head. "Well, not in a sorcery sense of the word. Music is quite magical but not in the way you're thinking. It can take you to places, it can make you feel things."

"Isn't that what you think about that dimensional shop drinking buddy of yours?" Cerberus said with a smirk. Yue wrinkled his nose. Clow's glasses slipped down from the bridge of his nose, as a little blush colored his cheeks.

"I wouldn't go so far... Oh, let me show you what I mean by playing you some piano."

He pulled the chain and put his glasses on again. As mundane men had brought the instrument, he wasn't wearing his usual robes and the process of sitting on the bench was easier than it tended to be without a trail of cloth. He cracked his knuckles with excitement, Then he opened a lid to display rectangular keys in black and white.

His fingers flew through the surface of said keys, pushing them down in a strange, quick manner. The sounds were louder than Cerberus expected, yet at the same time there was a softness and warmth that left him breathless. Every chime was either a bright star in the sky or a bubble in the deep sea. The notes felt like hot winds underneath his feathers in the summertime, at first. The second half of the song changed to a nostalgic mood, akin to sleeping at the feet of the armchair when Clow wasn't home.

By the time his master raised his hands, Cerberus' fur around his ears and under his helm was on end.

"Th-That was amazing!"

"...It was..." Yue murmured with puzzlement. "Did you really use no magic?"

"None whatsoever," Clow grinned. "It's true that some magicians can combine their powers with music, even to the point of mesmerizing their audience, but that's not my field. It's not fun, either. Music itself is the one doing miracles."

"So anyone can do this?"

"It's like everything else. Some people will be better since they have more talent or have practiced more. I've been learning on my own for the last 200 or 300 years, so modesty aside I've gained some skill for it."

"You always put modesty aside, Clow," Cerberus shook his head. "So rotten!"

"I heard some out-of-tune notes so you need more practice," Yue shrugged.

The man sighed and pushed his glasses closer to his face.

"This is why I love you two, so brutally honest. I am rusty and also, the piano needs some tuning."

Clow repeated part of the song again with his eyes closed. Now the guardian examined his master's relaxed face instead. It seemed the same kind of peace he achieved when he was in the kitchen or with his head inside a book; those little moments where the man's insane powers didn't surround this soul in chains.

The piano was going to do him some good. Yet at the same time, Cerberus was starting to feel uneasy. A selfish desire clouded his enjoyment. He waited until the magician stopped his concert.

"Clow!"

"Yes?"

"Let me try! You're hoarding the fun!"

Yue threw dirty looks at his brother, but Clow beamed and got up.

"Be gentle. There are no piano repairers in Tomoeda. Or piano salesmen. I had this one come from Hong Kong."

Cerberus sat down just like humans did, back legs firmly on the floor and front legs extended. There went the first try as his paws pressed several keys at once. It sure sounded anything but harmonious. He would not give up, however. A new attempt was made with a different combination, and then another, and then another. Nothing but cacophonies that were not at all like Clow's profound and pristine song.

"The keys are too small!" he whined in defeat and swayed his tail to and fro.

"Are you done?" Yue asked. His delicate, pale fingers were stuck inside his ears.

"Heck no! It's just that we need a better piano, with larger keys."

"I see what you mean," Clow said, "but then I wouldn't be able to play it. Humans just make them human-sized for beings with thumbs."

"The fools! Use magic?"

"I can study the structure of pianos and see if I find a solution. It might take a while. With illusions it should be easy but—"

"Then it's no fun, then I'm not playing it."

"Figured as much," Clow let out a sigh. "Meanwhile, how about you help me with duets?"

"How can I even do that?"

The man made a gesture so Cerberus would move to the left half of the bench. When he was seated, he pointed at a couple of keys on the guardian's side.

"Press those two carefully with your fingers. Just those."

Cerberus separated the massive fingers of his left paw and managed to be precise enough to do so with two of them, by just putting the weight on the clawed tips.

"Perfect. Now do these. Very good! Now alternate them... not so fast, count in your head... That's right, keep at it, just in pairs."

Clow took his half of the piano and started a new, simple song that meshed perfectly with his golden child's clumsy chords.

"Oh! We're playing something!" Cerberus cried, excited.

"We're playing, yes," Clow smiled serenely with his eyes closed. "I'll find more songs we can do like this, alright?"

"Awesome! Hey Yue, aren't you jealous?"

"Why should I be?"

"I can teach you how to play if you want."

"Yeah! Let's compete!" Cerberus thought it better and frowned. "Wait, no, you have human fingers and that's unfair."

"...It seems quite bothersome, so no." Yue shifted on his feet, now touching the wooden floor.

"Oh," Clow nodded, a bit disappointed tone in his voice. Cerberus didn't seem to care, deep in the music, but he suspected he wasn't as upset as he wanted to sound. That trick would always work wonders on the moon guardian, however. This time wasn't the exception.

"I could... sing along with you two. Every now and then, mind you."

Clow chuckled, and played with a higher tempo. It seemed that this strange purchase was going to bring such entertainment and joy for everyone in the manor.


End file.
